Aim for the Speed Bumps
Posted by Troy | Filed under Humor, TV
illustration by Troy DeShano
“When you improvise a plan… sometimes you hit a speed bump,
and sometimes you hit it so hard that you soar through the air, far beyond your initial expectations.”
First person to guess who said this gets a cyber-five!
Freakiest Puritan Ever
Posted by Troy | Filed under Faith, TV
I just started watching God in America, a PBS Frontline documentary mini-series that’s been airing all week.
That guy who played Ben Linus on Lost is Puritan leader John Winthrop.
Freakiest Puritan ever!
This shot is actually from a really interesting scene about the trial of the colony’s rabble-rousing woman Anne Hutchinson, who was eventually banished for openly sharing her personal theology.
I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the series online.
Tags: Faith, pbs, religion, tv
Aurthur Fonzarelli vs. Alex P. Keaton
Posted by Troy | Filed under Self Project
When I was a kid I wanted to be The Fonz.
Who didn’t though… really?
He rode a motorcycle, lived in an over-garage apartment, was super-popular with the ladies, had enough confidence to dance and even had the power to defeat Mork in a battle of appendages (an unfortunate episode)…
and unlike most guys who ride motorcycles and live in over-garage apartments and dance and are good with “ladies,” The Fonz was actually cool.
and to top it all off he was even compassionate. He befriended the otherwise-camouflage Richie Cunningham and his neo-maxi-zoom-dweebie friends Ralph and Potsie. Fonzie’s big heart gave me hope that someone as cool might take the otherwise-camouflage me under his wing (and that I might become just as cool as a result).
But becoming Fonzie wasn’t my only vision, I was also pretty impressed with Alex P. Keaton.
Commercials are Awesome
Posted by Troy | Filed under Found
I started producing TV ads about 5 years ago. I’ve never watched commercials the same way since.
These two are both amazing and definitely “work.” I’ll even stop channel flipping just to catch one.
Which is your favorite? Read the rest of this entry »
The Office Baby Breaks New Ground
Posted by Troy | Filed under Strong Odors, TV
The scene:
A woman, late in her pregnancy freezes mid-stride to announce to her partner that her water has just broken
(possibly a wisecrack about peeing her pants or another character slipping and falling in the fluid).
The couple race to the hospital barely making it in time to start pushing.
Somehow in the midst of the mother’s bloodcurdling screams and insults at her doofus husband, the doctor has the presence and expertise to recognize… the baby is breech!!
Tags: original illustration, strong odors, the office, tv
Zev on Amazing Race
Posted by Troy | Filed under Autism, Parenting, TV
Editorial Note: This original post was written in 2009, during Zev and Justin’s first appearance on The Amazing Race. I’m excited they’re back in 2011 and glad more people are discovering the same hope that I discuss in this article.
Individuals on the Autism Spectrum have never had a voice in the media.
Of course there’s Rain Man (everyone’s first reply when I say “my son has Autism”)…
And the occasional savant on 60 Minutes or something… (which of course results in everyone’s second reply “so is he super good at math or the piano or something?”)
And that is about it.
There’s never been occasion in media where a character with Autism was actually a person… you know what I mean?
That is why I consider this season’s Amazing Race to be groundbreaking…
Because Zev Glassenberg is someone to watch.
As far as I can tell he is the first person ever in popular media to represent individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
While watching this weeks episode…
I chuckled knowingly when he’s concerned about getting his shoes wet while traveling through knee-deep floods in Vietnam…
and I felt so proud… like he was my own son… when he masterfully shepherded a flock of ducks during one competition…
and gave his jacket to a man who had none…
and my heart cheered when his team came in 2nd at the finish line for that leg of the race…
But the thing that really gets me emotional…
is that he’s got a friend.
a real friend.
Because I know I’m in for a lot of heartbreak over the next decade as I try to watch my son relate to his peers… and none of them will really understand him.
But seeing Zev with his buddy Justin gives me hope… just a little hope… that someday my boy can have a friend that understands him and appreciates him the way I do…
a friend who loves his sense of humor and is humbled by his unselfish spirit and touched by his sweet personality and…..
You can follow Zev and Justin on the race via their webpage (which is mostly twitter status updates of funny stuff Zev says on the show)
Tags: amazing race, aspergers, Autism, tv
Enjoy Every Sandwich
Posted by Troy | Filed under Cancer, Music
I’ll have to admit that I wasn’t very familiar with Warren Zevon.
Of course I knew “Werewolves of London,” but that was pretty much all I’d ever heard from the guy until he was diagnosed with cancer in 2002.
I noticed him then.
I’d only just recovered from my first bout with cancer and anytime I saw Warren on TV or whatever, I stopped to listen.
and everything he said made sense.
There is some sort of solidarity that comes with suffering.
If you’re blessed enough to have suffered very little, then you don’t know it…
But for those of us that have endured sickness, or hurt, or oppression, or poverty, or real loss… there is a connectedness.
Following news of his diagnosis, Warren appeared on Letterman’s show as the sole guest of the evening. I never really stay up late enough to watch Letterman, but I remember watching this.
When Dave asks him what has changed since he’d gotten the news, started treatment, etc.
Warren replies, “You put more value on every minute… you learn to enjoy every sandwich”
And that is just the thing.
For those of us lucky enough to have endured great suffering, even looked death right in the eye and survived, now find the minutiae of life magical.
I can take such great pleasure in something as simple as a sandwich, or an illustration, or something silly my kid says, or a song, or a breath of fresh air.
That is what Strong Odors is all about.
Tags: Cancer, tv, warren zevon
